Prior to joining USM, Dr. McDonnell served as research professor and interim dean at the College of Business at Stony Brook University, where he helped launched the university’s first MBA program. He also led implementation of a joint degree with Nanjing University in China and an expanded executive master’s degree in technology management program in Seoul, Korea.

Before becoming an academic administrator, McDonnell held leadership positions within the business world, serving as senior vice president for marketing and external affairs for the Long Island Lighting Company, managing director of Broadgate Consultants, a Wall Street communications and investor relations firm, and president of Chinex International, LTD, a joint venture with China National Machinery Corporation. McDonnell also has served as director of business administration for Applied Digital Data Systems, a division of the NCR Corporation, and as associate director of the Stony Brook University Hospital.